One Small Change
by Lizzie223
Summary: What if Sakura decided not to take the chunin exams? What if team seven never participated? How would that change everything? Eventual sasusaku. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

By Lizzie223

What if Sakura decided not to take the chunin exams? What if team seven never participated? How would that change everything? Eventual sasusaku. Just to let you know I am going to be switching between different people's points of views in this story.

Chapter 1

Sakura paced her room restlessly, snatching her clock from her nightstand and checking the time. _One thirty am. _Sakura couldn't sleep, the words Kakashi sensei spoke to them days before still rung in her head. _The decision is up to you. Feel free to back out if you want too. Should I back out? _Sakura pondered.

She walked to her balcony and opened the screen door. After opening it, she sat on the edge of the balcony, swinging her feet on the side of it. She stared at the dark sky, thinking that it looked like tiny diamonds on black satin, draped across the night sky.

_Registration for the chunin exams is tomorrow. If I don't go, Naruto and Sasuke should be fine without me, right? They're powerful enough to pass. But if they both pass then I'll be the only one on our team that's still a genin. And if that happens, will our team be split up?_

_ No, that couldn't happen, right? _Sakura mentally debated both sides for hours on end until she finally made a decision. She wasn't going to take the chunin exams.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to anyone that read chapter one I am amazed that you would read it. Also, this story mainly focuses on team seven so yeah. Thanks to Kamikashi and Novrier for reviewing. I am sorry that the first chapter was a bit short, I promise to try my best from now on to make them longer, thanks for pointing that out. Thanks to anyone who faved this, followed, or read! _

Sasuke walked along one of the many sidewalks in Konoha, heading towards the registration building for the chunin exams. _It's probably going to rain soon, I should hurry. _Then using his superhuman speed, he sped towards the registration building.

The good news was, Sasuke got their before he got soaked in the cold rain, the bad news was, neither of his teammates had arrived yet. Naruto made sense, he wasn't the most punctual person ever, but Sakura? Sure, she wasn't always super early or anything, but she was usually on time.

_But Kakashi sensei did say that the decision to take the chunin exams was up to the individual right? So even if one teammate doesn't arrive on time, we can still take it right? Stop, _Sasuke mentally chided himself, _overthinking the situation won't do you any good. _

"Sasuke!" Naruto's loud voice reverberated throughout the large room. _Idiot, does he always have to make his entrances so loud? _Naruto confidently strode towards Sasuke, mentally scoping the other teams that came to register. "Hey Sasuke, the chunin exams are gonna be so easy! We'll breeze right through it! Wait," Naruto looked around as if searching for a lost penny, "Where's Sakura?" He asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Well, it's ok, I'm sure she'll be here any minute!" Naruto said enthusiastically. Naruto glanced at the clock, there was only five more minutes until they would have to start with or without Sakura. _Naruto, I can tell you're worried it's as clear as it would be if someone scribbled "worried" on your forehead!_

After five minutes, a jonin instructor instructed them to go to the registration room to register, then go to the first exam room. Reluctantly, they both started to walk to the registration room only to be stopped by Kakashi in the hallway.

"Naruto and Sasuke, I'm sorry, but this is the end of the line for you two." Kakashi said. "What? Why!?" Naruto demanded. "To put it simply, you need three-man squads to enter the chunin exams. You only have two." Kakashi explained. _We're not stupid, you don't need to point out the obvious! _"We can't take the exams?" Naruto asked, his face sad. "No, you can't" Kakashi agreed.

Kakashi watched his students trudge back through the hallway they just walked through, looking crestfallen. He didn't want them to be disappointed, but more importantly he hoped that they wouldn't focus their anger on Sakura. When she didn't show up, he wasn't too surprised, while he told them about the chunin exams he could see the worry perfectly on her features.

He also didn't blame Sakura for not doing it yet. This wasn't on disregard of her skills, many people wait until they are physically and mentally ready for the horrors the chunin exams can bring. He expected something like this to occur but it still didn't make it any easier for him to crush their hopes of the chunin exams.

He started to walk to his apartment, taking in the cold weather, it was still raining.

When Naruto found out that they couldn't take the exams, he was caught between several emotions, sadness, anger, shock, disappointment, and perhaps the most puzzling one, confusion. Why didn't she want to take the chunin exams? It just didn't make sense. One thing was for sure though, he couldn't feel mad at Sakura. It was just impossible for him.

But some part of him felt like she should have warned them, by saying something like, "Guys, I'm not planning on taking the chunin exams this time around sorry," Naruto would have appreciated something like that. Naruto trudged through the mud to Ichiraku. Nothing was better for drowning your sorrows than ramen! And while he felt a bit better now, the nagging feeling of disappointment didn't leave his chest.

After sitting down on the comfortable barstool, he ordered an extra-large bowl of Miso Chasu ramen and waited for it to come, for once not being impatient. It caught the owner's daughter Ayame's attention. "Hey, you okay? Usually you're whining about how long we take to get your ramen ready." She asked.

"Yeah sure." Naruto grumbled. "Okay, what's wrong? Spill it in all the time I've known you you've never been quiet." She stated. "Fine, Sakura decided not to take the chunin exams so me and Sasuke couldn't take it and it's just not fair! It's also because of Kakashi sensei! He didn't tell us that it was all of us or none of us! I'm not mad at Sakura really, I just, well, now I have to wait even longer to become the Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, listen, I'm sorry that you can't take the chunin exams but I know especially that a girl's feelings are a tricky thing. Imagine how she feels. She probably feels a lot worse than you do. She knows you and Sasuke have goals. If she didn't know it was probably just because she thought you and Sasuke could handle yourselves. Besides, if you let one little thing like this stop you on the path to becoming Hokage, that's almost the same thing as saying you give up! And the Naruto I know would never give up! Also as you've said before, the path to becoming the Hokage is never easy!" Ayame encouraged.

"You're right, I'm still kinda upset though." Naruto stated. "Well there's nothing better for drowning sorrows than our ramen!" Ayame said. Teuchi gave Naruto his ramen with an encouraging nod. "She's right. Don't let this get you down!" Teuchi agreed. Then Naruto started to eat his ramen. _He still looks sad but I hope that helped a little at least. _Ayame thought.

Sakura was in her room thinking. About an hour before her mom told her the news that stated that Sasuke and Naruto didn't take the chunin exams. She was utterly shocked. Now, she didn't even want to imagine how awkward their next mission would be.

_It's your fault it's gonna be awkward, after all I'm the one that's the reason for it. _Sakura wished she had known. It would have made things a lot smoother down the road. _Naruto and Sasuke are gonna be so mad! Well, probably not Naruto. Probably Sasuke though. _

_ Apologies are definitely going to be due, my apology to Naruto will be easy. But Sasuke? He'll be a lot harder. Sasuke can't be mad! Well he is most likely. Since when was the voice in my head so unoptimistic? _Sakura wondered.Sakura looked out her window, and saw a signal sent by Kakashi. _Well, I guess I'll never find out how they feel until I go. _And with that, she jumped out her window and headed towards the signal.

_Awkward _was the first word that floated into Kakashi's head as the three teammates assembled. Naruto was trying not to look bummed out but was failing miserably, Sasuke was pointedly ignoring his teammates, and Sakura was staring at the grass as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

_Today is going to go great I'm sure. _Kakashi thought sarcastically."Okay, so our mission today is to apprehend a gang of thieves that've been terrorizing small villages along the border of the land of fire." Kakashi explained casually.

"Awesome! We're gonna get to fight gangs?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. _Well, it doesn't take much to drag him out of a bad mood. _"Yes." Kakashi confirmed. "Yes! This'll be so cool!" Naruto happily stated.

Sasuke was still ignoring Sakura, Sakura lifted her head and her eyes shone with some excitement. "Ok, assemble at the main gate of Konoha in two hours!" Kakashi instructed, then left.

After Kakashi left, Sasuke followed suit, leaving Sakura and Naruto left. _I might as well get my first apology over with._ "Naruto, sorry" She finally said. "For what?" He replied dubiously. "What do you think? For stopping you guys from taking the chunin exams!" Sakura exclaimed frustratedly. _Does he just want me to drag out this whole apology? _"It's fine!" Naruto grumbled. Sakura wasn't stupid, she could still tell that he was upset. But this had helped clear the air between them a little at least.With that they both left to prepare for the oncoming mission. _Naruto never changes. _Sakura thought.

Two hours later they met at the main gate. Kakashi assessed his students. Naruto seemed somewhat placated by the promise of a new mission. Sasuke had completely retreated into himself, speaking only when absolutely necessary, and in the rare event that he did it was only one or two syllables, and Sakura for her part, only seemed to be interested in the floor, only stealing glances at her teammates occasionally.

Kakashi didn't blame Sakura for her decision. But it was clear enough to him that Sasuke did. _This mission will be interesting. _Kakashi thought. "Okay you guys, let's go!" Kakashi instructed. Then they all started to head towards the most recent sighting of the gang.

Sasuke's mind still couldn't drag him off one word, _why? Why had Sakura ruined this opportunity for him? Doesn't she realize how important this is? _Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted when Naruto asked, "Are we there yet?" Sasuke silently groaned. That was the fourth or fifth time he had asked that exact question this hour.

"Almost, about five minutes." Kakashi replied calmly. _It shows you're a good jonin if you can endure the exact same question several times, scratch that, you're a good jonin if you can handle Naruto for an hour. _Sasuke thought. "Yes! Now we'll get to fight bandits and save damsels and-" Naruto's prattling was cut off when Kakashi interrupted him.

"Woah, calm down, if you get overwhelmed with excitement you could potentially miss something important." Kakashi said. "Could you just be quiet for once?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked startled, Sasuke hadn't spoken this whole time and he chose to now? Sasuke rolled his eyes. _You would think I was mute from the looks he's giving me right now! _Naruto finally recovered from his shock a minute or two later. Sakura, Sasuke couldn't tell too well because her eyes were looking anywhere where her teammates were not, and Kakashi? Sasuke couldn't really tell, probably due to his mask.

Naruto was about to retort to another insult to set them of on another one of their arguments when suddenly Kakashi announced, "we're here."

"Boss, what should we do, Konoha sent a team of ninja to apprehend us." A gang member asked. "Easy, we just need to hire some ninja of our own to deal with this." Their leader replied cockily. "Also, we just need them to be held off in order for us to complete our project for our leader. The boss added.

A/N: _I hope you all like this chapter! It might take me a few days to upload the next chapter, I'm just busy. Thanks for reading and reviewing and all that stuff!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three.

A/N: _Hi! Sorry it's been a day or two longer than I expected to update this chapter! I will try to be more consistent in my updates in the future. I'll try to update every week or so from now on. Thanks to anyone who read, reviewed, faved, or followed! -Lizzie._

Sakura stole a quick glance at Sasuke, then immediately turning her head the other way. It was like she just couldn't get the courage to apologize. It was maddeningly frustrating to her. To the average onlooker, it looked easy. But to Sakura, it was going to be very difficult.

Of course, she wanted to apologize, the problem was that she just couldn't get enough courage to apologize to him. Kakashi interrupted her reverie by saying, "Okay, we will split up into two groups to search for clues that may lead us to the gang. The groups are me and Naruto, and Sasuke and Sakura."

It didn't take long for Sakura to guess why Kakashi put her with Sasuke. He obviously wanted to have them make up. _It's not like picking daisies you know. _She thought. The four-man squad then broke up into their assigned groups and started to look for clues.

"What about this? Is this something?" Naruto asked curiously. "No, it's just a rock." Kakashi replied. "No! Not the rock don't you see what's on the rock?" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi took the rock and looked closer at the small stone, his eye that wasn't covered looking at every crevice that he could see until it hit him.

On the rock was a small piece of fabric, most likely from a gang member, swaying gently with the breeze. "Good job Naruto." Kakashi said. Naruto beamed at the praise before setting off their signal.

Sakura and Sasuke had so far found nothing. Sasuke was carefully searching through the grass, his eyes missing no detail. Sakura was also searching, but she was searching in the rock piles near them. "Why?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Sakura's head flew up in surprise. "What?" She replied. Before Sasuke could answer her question, they saw the signal that Kakashi had with him and Naruto.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Let's go." Sasuke replied. When the signal was fired, it meant they found something or something happened. With no verbal cues, they both started running towards where the rest of their squad was.

"You're finally here! You guys take forever!" Naruto remarked. "Well anyways," Naruto continued, "look what we found!" Kakashi tossed them the small piece of material that Naruto had found on the rock. "I should be able to summon Pakkun and have him track the scent and have us follow." Kakashi explained.

As quick as a flash, Kakashi summoned Pakkun. "Hey, what do you have for me to do this time?" Pakkun asked. "Smell this." Kakashi instructed while giving the small clothing material to Pakkun. The ninja hound took it and curiously studied it before putting his nose against it, sniffing deeply.

"I found the scent matching this one, it's a little far off though. Follow me." Pakkun said.

As they trekked through the thick trees, Kakashi pondered the states of his three students once again. Naruto was still bummed out, but Kakashi could tell that he wasn't as upset as he was. Sasuke, was well, Sasuke, and Sakura was still the same.

_So, nothing to different than before. _Kakashi thought. Suddenly, there was a big noise up ahead to the east. To Kakashi it sounded like an explosion. "Kakashi sensei…" Sakura pleaded quietly. "Exactly what I was thinking, let's go." Then they started heading towards the sound of the explosion.

The scene they arrived on was one word, horrific. The buildings were ablaze with fire, people were screaming and running, the wounded were collapsed on the ground, various amounts of blood pouring from their wounds, sinking into the soil staining it red.

Naruto was the first to react, activating his shadow clone jutsu, the many duplicates of him and the original were picking up the wounded and bringing them to a make-shift medical tent that was located on the other side of town. Kakashi and Sasuke were both using water style to eradicate the many fires, and Sakura was going into buildings on fire and saving those who were unfortunate enough to be trapped inside.

After a while, they were finally able to stop the fires and get everyone evacuated to a safe spot of the town that was lucky enough not to be completely destroyed. Luckily enough, there were no casualties, but many who lived in that side of the small town, were injured badly.

Sakura volunteered for the job of trying to ask some of the villagers about what had occurred. She volunteered because she felt she was best suited to this situation. Naruto was just too loud and overbearing, Sasuke was intimidating, and Kakashi was intimidating and scary as well.

She walked to a small tent, where the person she was going to talk to, was, thinking about how she would approach this. She walked into the tent and peered in, looking at the preteen girl sitting in the chair with a cast over her arm. She had shoulder length blonde hair, with brown eyes.

"Are you Sakura Haruno?" She asked politely. "I had heard that you were coming to interrogate me so ask away." She said. "Well first, what's your name?" Sakura asked. "Hayame." She replied. "Okay, how old are you?" Sakura quired. "Eleven," Hayame replied.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Sakura asked gently. "Well, I had just left my house because I was going on an errand. I walked to the nearest flower shop because I wanted to purchase some flowers for my cousin because he fell ill with a bad cold a little while ago." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"But when I walked into the shop, I started to hear screams like someone was being murdered or something so I immediately started to run toward where the screams were coming from and I saw a bunch of people in black robes, all making fire handsigns, setting fire to all the buildings in the surrounding area."

Hayame shivered at the memory before continuing. "Then I saw a big piece of debris coming down about to hit a little girl so I ran in front of her and that's how I got this." She motioned toward her armcast. "The last thing I remember before passing out completely was a member of the gang saying something like, "This is the first fire." Does that mean anything to you?" Hayame asked curiously. "Well, I'm not sure but I have an idea. Thank you for talking with me. I hope your arm gets better soon. Bye." Sakura said as she left the tent. Hayame was waving with her non-injured arm. _One thing's for sure, I need to tell Kakashi sensei this as soon as possible. _Sakura thought then started running towards where the rest of their squad was waiting.

Kakashi sent a messenger dog to Konoha to tell Hiruzen about the small town so that they would be able to send a team to deal with this situation. After that, they waited for Sakura to join up with them again. "Kakashi sensei!" Sakura exclaimed breathlessly. "Woah, calm down. Tell me what you found out." Kakashi instructed calmly.

Then Sakura relayed everything she learned. After that, she stole another quick glance at Sasuke before looking away. Still not having enough courage to ask what he meant by "why?" she wasn't a hundred percent sure but she was almost certain it had something to do with the chunin exams.

"Kakashi sensei what does this mean?" Naruto asked. "It means that this gang probably intends to set more fires after this one, the last one targeting Konoha." Kakashi replied bluntly. "What?! We have to stop them! We need to!" Naruto exclaimed vehemently.

"Once again, calm down." Kakashi instructed. "I was just saying a potential outcome, I don't know for sure." Kakashi added to calm his distraught student. Naruto did calm down, but only a fraction. That didn't really surprise Kakashi. No one could get over a shock like that so fast. Not even Naruto.

They were on their way once again, following Pakkun. The whole scene was eerily silent, no one bothering to break it. Sakura was once again looking at the trees, Naruto was looking straight ahead with a determined look in his eyes, and Sasuke was going ahead silent with an unreadable look on his face.

"Wait." Kakashi abruptly stated. They all stopped, awaiting his orders. "There might be traps ahead, let me go ahead first. Stay here." Then Kakashi set off.

_About thirty minutes later. _They all heard footsteps coming from the direction where Kakashi had gone. A figure emerged from the thick grove of trees. "Hey, traps are disabled. Let's go." Kakashi said shortly. He had dirt and dust deeply embedded in his clothing. _I wonder. _Sakura thought.

"Their scent is getting closer, if we go faster we should be able to catch them." Pakkun informed them. Without verbal cues, they all started to go faster.

_ Five minutes later. _"Kakashi they're straight ahead." Pakkun informed them. "Okay, guys, don't take any risks, we don't know the skill level of them, they could be easy to apprehend or they could be a challenge for me even. So be careful." Kakashi told them.

Once they got there, Naruto asked, "Where are they?" "We were duped." Kakashi said shortly, holding up a small bird with a small piece of material tied to one of its' small talons. Gently, Kakashi took the material off and the bird flew off.

"Their gang must have someone that is good at sensing chakra. Which means that they might have a ninja with them. Pakkun, can you track their scent?" Kakashi asked. Pakkun sniffed deeply before answering, "yes, I can, their scent is in the exact opposite of here." "Okay, let's go, lead the way Pakkun." Kakashi said.

_Five hours later. _It was getting late, the sun had already set, Sakura was exhausted. But Sakura doubted they would be stopping. If they did stop and rest for a while, they ran the risk of losing their scent completely. With that reasoning in mind, Sakura forced herself to keep going. She wasn't going to ask for them to stop, she ruined enough for them.

Kakashi noticed that his students were tiring. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were still going, but if they burnt themselves out by the time they got to the gang, they would be killed in no time at all. "Let's stop and rest for a few minutes." Kakashi suggested.

They stopped in a thick grove of trees. Naruto was sitting on a high branch, swinging his legs carefree as he looked at the sky set with beautiful colors as the sun disappeared. Sasuke was sitting on a branch too, shutting his eyes as if in deep thought.

And Sakura? She was leaning against one of the trees, leaning her head on the firm trunk, relaxing. About ten minutes later Kakashi said that they needed to keep going. They obeyed and started to run again. "Their scent is staying in one place right now." Pakkun informed them.

They were trekking through the woods when suddenly Kakashi stopped. "Kakashi sensei? What's-" Sakura couldn't even finish her question.

_ A/N:Hi! Sorry if this was a little late! I'll try to update every week. I just am really busy so yeah. Also, if you're wondering how Sasuke was using water style earlier in this chapter, it's just because of his sharingan. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks to anyone who read, reviewed, faved, or followed! -Lizzie. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_A:N: Hi! Thank you to anyone who read, reviewed, faved, or followed! I really appreciate it! I hope you all like this chapter! -Lizzie._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. _

A big hand made out of lightning thrust out of the ground, grabbing Kakashi, dragging him into the ground. "Kakashi sensei!" Sakura screamed. They all tried to get to him, but were too late. Kakashi was gone. "What are we gonna do?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"We should camp here. It's getting hard to see. We should also send a messenger bird to Konoha to see what they say. If someone was strong enough to kidnap Kakashi, then we might be dealing with some real problems." Pakkun piped up.

"But, we can't abandon Kakashi sensei! One of the first things he taught us was that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon even one of their friends is worse than scum!" Naruto argued. "He's right! We need to help Kakashi sensei!" Sakura agreed.

"Also, by the time reinforcements from Konoha arrive, it'll be too late. We probably should rest for a few hours though." Sakura added. Pakkun sighed in resignation. "Naruto, Sasuke, is that okay with both of you?" Sakura asked while looking at the ground.

Naruto grudgingly murmured his assent, Sakura still caught his grumbling of, "We still have to wait." "Naruto she's right, if you all keep moving nonstop, the enemy will kill you. And you'll leave Kakashi In the enemy's hands." Pakkun supplied.

"I guess you're right." Naruto murmured.

_Later that night. Blood stained wooden floors, two corpses rested on top of each other, blood gushing out of both of their wounds. Sasuke recognized those people. They were his parents after all. Itachi walked into the light. "Big brother what happened? Who did this?" Sasuke yelled._

_ "Foolish little brother." Itachi replied then sped towards him, shuriken poised to strike. _Sasuke woke up gasping for air. His bedroll was covered in sweat. Without thinking about it, Sasuke pulled his shirt on roughly and started to take a run, the cold air ripping through his breath.

One of the few things Sasuke liked was running, he liked the freedom of it. He liked the wind rushing through your air as you pushed your legs to their limits. It was also a sweet release for stress for Sasuke at least. It was also useful for training, it made your legs stronger and the muscles in them stronger too.

Sasuke took in the cold air, he always had preferred the cold over the hot. He liked a cold day more than a warm one too. He started slowing down and stopped.

He stopped in a clearing gently shaded by trees, but not completely shaded. He looked around, there was a girl sitting on a log, looking up at the stars In deep thought, said girl was Sakura. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?" She asked. She walked towards him, stopping a few feet away.

"Why?" He asked suddenly. Sakura's head whipped up in surprise. "Sasuke what do you mean?" She replied quickly, intentionally avoiding eye contact. "Why didn't you take the chunin exams?" He asked. "Well I well um you see, the reason why, I just kind of-" Sakura was interrupted when Sasuke cut in with, "Sakura, I want the truth, I don't want your lame excuses."

Sakura's face fell. She lifted her head. "Fine, if you really want to know here's the truth. I didn't take the chunin exams because I thought that I wasn't strong enough! I thought you and Naruto could handle yourselves!" She yelled.

"Don't you realize what that meant for me and Naruto? Our promotions were stunted by you. It's your fault that we have to wait even longer to fulfill our goals!" Sasuke replied bluntly. It felt good to put air to the wounds that had been inflicted.

"Why are you so obsessed with your goals? Don't you care about anything else?!" Sakura yelled. "My whole life is for one and only one purpose, to kill Itachi. If I took the chunin exams I would've passed and been one step closer to completing my goal! But no, you just messed that up!" Sasuke replied harshly.

"Your "goal" isn't a goal at all. It's just revenge! Even if you get that done. You'll be completely empty! There's more to your life than revenge! What about team seven? What about the village? What about your friends that care about you?" She asked.

Sakura was panting harshly. "My goal comes first." He replied simply. "You can't just say that! What about when you protected Naruto in the Land Of Waves? Didn't he matter? Or when you jumped in front of me on the way to the Land Of Waves? You do care! You just won't admit it!" Sakura screamed.

"I wasn't thinking." Sasuke denied. "You don't mean that! You don't! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I ruined your plans! I'm sorry I'm so weak! I'm sorry that all I do is mess things up! I'm sorry I can't change what I did! I'm sorry that I'm not a help to our team!" Sakura cried.

Soft tears gently dripped down from her green eyes, she dropped to the ground, sitting on her folded legs. "I'm sorry." She whispered, tears making her voice sound squeaky. "It's all my fault!" She added softly. "I promise I'll get stronger so this doesn't happen again! Just please forgive me so that we can go back to how we used to be! I can't stand this!" Sakura exclaimed through her tears.

She dropped her face in her hands, sobbing. It caused a surge of guilt to rise in Sasuke. Sasuke walked until he was next to Sakura. Gently, he draped his arm around her shoulders. Sakura was surprised to feel an arm around her shoulders. She realized it was him. Hoping that he wouldn't push her off, Sakura put her hands around him and put her head on his shoulder, still sobbing.

"I forgive you." He whispered in her ear. His lips accidentally brushing the skin on her cheek, causing Sasuke to widen his eyes in surprise. "What?" She asked under the cover of her tears. "I forgive you." He said again. She lifted her head off his shoulder. "Thank you." She said softly, blushing subtly. Quickly, she kissed him briefly on his lips, blushing after. His eyes widened in surprise, there was a scolding on his tongue, but he decided not to say it, he caused her enough grief for one night. Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. "Let's go back." She suggested. "Yeah." He replied. Then she grabbed his hand and held it tightly, expecting Sasuke to brush her off.

Sakura was surprised when Sasuke didn't shrug her off. Then together, they started walking back.

After getting back, they were lucky, Naruto was still sleeping, snoring loudly. Pakkun was asleep too, curled up in a little ball of fur on the grass. "Sasuke, goodnight." Sakura softly said. "Goodnight Sakura." Sasuke said after a small pause.

A few hours later, they woke up and ate an impromptu breakfast of instant ramen that Naruto always brought on their missions. "Naruto, why do you always bring ramen?" Sakura asked curiously. "Oh? That's easy! Ramen is my absolute favorite food that I can never forget to bring!" Naruto replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sakura laughed. Naruto noticed how the air had cleared between the two of them. He wondered what had occurred. "Pakkun, can you smell Kakashi sensei?" Sakura quired. Sniffing deeply, Pakkun informed them by saying, "Yes, but their scent is pretty faint. They are a while away. By the time reinforcements get here, we'll be long gone. Are you all a hundred percent sure that you want to do this?"

They all nodded. "Let's go!" Naruto said.

_A/N: Hi! First of all, I want to say that I am really sorry about this chapter not being that long. I'm just really busy. I hope you understand. I promise that they will be longer in the future. I also want to say thank you to anyone who reviewed, faved, read, or followed this story! Hope you all have a great week! -Lizzie. _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

One Small Change

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.

_A/N: First I just want to say that I am so sorry about my hiatus. Life is just getting in the way, you know what I mean. I shouldn't be taking another hiatus for quite a while. Also thank you for your feedback! I'm not the best writer (obviously) so I really appreciate it when you give me advice on how to make this story better. When I can, I will definitely edit my last chapter. Anyhow, thank you so much for sticking with this story! Enjoy! _

The three sweaty teens and a hunting dog made their way through the treacherous forest. Sakura nervously glanced at her teammates several times, especially Sasuke. She remembered her bold move. Sasuke acted as if nothing happened. She didn't mind that. She looked down at the ground. She was doing that a lot lately. _Why am I so weak? _Sakura clenched her fists tightly as tears blurred her vision. She wouldn't let the tears fall._ That's it. From now on, I promise to take my training seriously. I'm not going to sit around anymore and let Sasuke and Naruto get ahead of me. _

Sakura smirked from under her bangs. She wasn't Naruto by any means but when she makes a promise, especially to herself. She intends to keep it. They continued for another few hours more before taking a break. Sakura dipped her sweaty feet in the cold stream. She wanted to be alone for a little while, even if it was just thirty minutes. She heard the rustling of leaves behind her. She looked and was slightly creeped out when she saw nothing there. _It must have been the wind. Right?_

Sakura was an easily scared person. It started when she was six and walked into the living room while her parents while her parents were watching a horror movie. Let's just say she didn't sleep much for the next few weeks. Recently she had been begging her parents to let her watch horror movies. They always told her no because they were worried that she would get nightmares. She heard another rustling behind her. _It definitely wasn't the wind this time. _

She stood up and took out a kunai. "C-come out!" She commanded, mentally berating herself for her stutter. The terrain shook slightly, then everything went eerily still. "I said come out!" She exclaimed. Now slightly annoyed that whoever was present wasn't listening to her order. A small chuckle was heard while a masculine figure phased out of the bushes he was hiding in. "Hopefully you'll present more of a challenge than your sensei." The figure took off his hood and revealed his face.

Sakura gasped at his appearance, there were several thick scars lining his face and neck. He had blonde curly hair and dark brown eyes. She felt a flutter of sympathy rise in her chest. She stamped it out. _I'm supposed to be a ninja! I can't feel bad for the enemy! _ She snapped back to reality when she realized what he had told her before he took his hood off. "Why did you kidnap my sensei?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand. He glanced at her and chuckled again, his chuckle was a low harsh sound.

"You seriously think that I'm going to tell you that? You must be stupider than you look." He unsheathed his katana, putting himself into a fighting stance. Sakura did the same. "Well, if you won't willingly tell me, I guess I'm just going to have to force it out of you!" They charged each other at the same time. Their weapons clashed causing sparks to fly. They both jumped back, assessing the others' skill.

Sakura's emerald eyes analytically judged him. _With my luck he's a chunin or higher. Judging by the crossed out headband on his arm, he's a rogue ninja from Suna. I'm going to have to be careful about this one. Wait, if he's rogue, does that mean that the rest of the people we're dealing with will be rogues? _Sakura snapped out of her thought stream when he charged her again, katana in hand.

She took out her kunai and ducked under his katana. She then took her kunai and stabbed him hard in the leg. Only for him to disappear and reappear in front of her uninjured and harshly kicked her across the forest. She felt herself hit a tree hard. She inhaled sharply and winced. _I probably bruised some of my ribs. _He walked toward her slowly then stopped. "You're an even bigger disappointment than your sensei! Don't make me laugh! You don't deserve to be a ninja! Your teammates are probably even bigger disappointments than you are!"

Sakura stood shakily and took a kunai out, gripping it tightly. "You can call me weak, you can call me a disappointment, you can even call me stupid. But the moment you bring my teammates into this is the moment you die!" _And well, tell me why you took my sensei. _She brought her eyes up to his and glared at him with something that she has never felt before. Hatred.

For the first time ever, Sakura Haruno felt hatred towards another person. He met her glare evenly with his own hatred filled glare. They charged at each other and clashed again, albeit: in a taijutsu battle this time. They punched and ducked. Time felt like it sped up to Sakura. With every movement, her bruised ribs would protest loudly with pain.

Sakura ignored the pain and focused on the battle. _He usually depends on the right side of his body more than his left side. I have only one chance at this. Once he realizes that I know his weakness, he'll make it even harder for me to find an opening. _She took her chance when he lunged forward. She moved out of the way at the last possible second and punched him with a little chakra put into her punch on his side.

He flew into a tree. Sakura stared at him, intently looking for any significant movement that could tell her his next move. He instead stood and chuckled. He met her glare once again, filling it with even more hatred than before. Then turned away. "You were a bigger challenge than I thought, Sakura Haruno. I look forward to fighting you again. But the next time we battle," He looked over his shoulder at her again. "You'll die." Then he disappeared.

Sakura collapsed on the ground, taking several deep breaths. Her ribs ached horribly. Her last thought before she entered the world of unconsciousness was, _how does he know my name? _

7-7-7

Pakkun sighed for what seemed like the twentieth time. Naruto and Sasuke were fighting again. He truly wished that Sakura was here. She's the mediator between Naruto and Sasuke. About twenty-five minutes ago she had said that she wanted alone time and would be back there before their thirty- minute break ended. He looked over at Naruto and Sasuke again.

Their fight seemed to have ended. Well sort of. They were sending each other heated glares while crossing their arms. Pakkun walked over to them. "Naruto, Sasuke, calm-" Pakkun straightened and sniffed the air deeply. "Pakkun what is it?" Naruto asked. Pakkun didn't answer, instead he sniffed the air just as deeply as before, confirming that what he thought he was smelling, was what he was smelling. He looked at them. "I smell blood." Naruto and Sasuke straightened immediately. "Grab your packs and follow me." Both boys did so without question.

7-7-7

After a few minutes of jumping through the trees, the boys reached their destination. What they saw wasn't pretty. Sakura laid there, sprawled on the ground with her pink hair fanning her face. They all immediately ran to her to asses her condition. "Boys, turn her over." Pakkun ordered. Once they did so, Pakkun looked her over and listened to her breathing and heartbeat.

Pakkun turned to the boys. You could tell Naruto was worried, he was showing worry in his features and he was tense for what Pakkun was going to say. It was hard to see Sasuke show worry. If you looked at him, you wouldn't guess his teammate was injured and he didn't know what was wrong with her. But if you looked into Sasuke's eyes, you could see some concern in them.

"She's going to be okay, she just has a few bruised ribs." Naruto sat beside Sakura's form and hugged her tight. "Idiot, you're going to make her worse." Sasuke told him. Naruto's eyes widened as he let go of Sakura and started crying. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Sasuke and Pakkun rolled their eyes at Naruto's overdramatic attitude.

"Okay, calm down Naruto. We're going to have to stay here for the night because of Sakura's injuries. They should only take a day to heal. You both have jobs. Naruto, set up the sleeping bags and catch some dinner. Sasuke, get some firewood and light it up with one of your fireball jutsu. Both of you are going to make dinner together." Pakkun explained.

"What are you gonna do?" Naruto asked. Pakkun thought for a second and answered. "I'm going to do a perimeter check. It's likely Sakura got attacked. I'm making sure that whoever attacked her isn't present anymore. Let's get our jobs done."

7-7-7

Sakura's eyes slowly peered open. _My ribs hurt. _Was her first thought when she woke up. She was certain that it was past midnight because of where the moon was. She saw Naruto and Pakkun sleeping. She also saw Sasuke standing in a tree. _He's most likely doing his shift. Ugh, my ribs really hurt. _She sat up and pressed her hands to her ribcage area.

It was wrapped. She blushed at the thought of a boy having to wrap her ribs. _I need a pain killer. _She looked longingly at her bag that was at a tree about ten feet from her. _I'm just gonna have to suck it up. _Shakily, she stood and started to walk to her bag. Her ribs protested at every movement, telling her to stop. She stubbornly didn't stop and kept walking.

It was a few steps away. She took another step and her ribs protested once again with an extremely sharp pain. She gasped and started to fall forward. She was prepared to greet the ground. When she didn't fall, she looked up and saw Sasuke holding her. "You should be getting rest." He remarked as he let her go. "I'm just getting some painkillers." She replied. She walked over to her pack and took a painkiller out and swallowed it with the help of water.

She walked back to her sleeping bag and slid in. She turned toward Sasuke. "Thank you." She said quietly. Sasuke looked away. "Annoying." Sakura felt something warm blossom in her chest as she slipped into her own world of dreams.

7-7-7

Sakura woke up and sat up. Naruto ran over to her and gave her a big hug. She patted his back and walked over to Pakkun with Naruto and Sasuke, mentally noting how her ribs didn't hurt much anymore. "How are you feeling?" Pakkun asked. Sakura turned towards him. "Better than yesterday. I'm guessing you all want an explanation for yesterday." She replied. They all nodded.

"Long story short, a rogue ninja from Suna attacked me and we fought. That's how I got my ribs bruised. I asked him why he took Kakashi sensei and he said that he wouldn't tell me. I highly suspect that the people we're dealing with are rogue ninja. The rogue ninja I was fighting disappeared before I could get him to tell me though. Also, he knew my name even though I never told him that." She told them.

They all understood her explanation, even Naruto after having it repeated to him a few times. They all started to pack up and head out a few minutes later.

7-7-7

They had been running for a few hours now when Pakkun suddenly stopped. The rest of them stopped too. "Pakkun, what's wrong?" Sakura asked. Pakkun shut his eyes in thought then opened them. "They're hideout Is inside that mountain." Pakkun said as he gestured to the mountain in front of them. "I have a strategy I think will work. Naruto and Sasuke will be the decoys. They will attract the attention of all the guards and start killing them. During all the chaos, the important people will probably run to the chaos because they don't know about the secret entrance and leave Kakashi on his own. That's where me and Sakura will come in. While you two are fighting, me and Sakura will sneak in and free Kakashi. After freeing him, we'll come to help you defeat the remaining enemies. Understood?" Pakkun asked. They all nodded and set off to do their jobs.

7-7-7

Right now, Pakkun was leading Sakura down a long staircase. Once they got to the bottom, it was pitch black. Sakura found a button and pushed it. Torches lit up and revealed a normal looking hallway with doors attached to it. It may have looked normal, but Sakura and Pakkun could tell there was something truly sinister in these rooms.

Cautiously, they slipped inside the first room. Sakura gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Pakkun whimpered. There was a metal table in the room. A small girl was on the table, she was purple. Her once blue eyes were now dull and glassy. She looked no more than six. _Those monsters! They must have experimented on her! _Sakura clenched her fists tightly.

Pakkun nudged her. "We should get going." She looked at him, a tear tracing its way down her cheek. "Yeah, we should." She replied. They left the room and decided to split up so that it would go quicker. Sakura slowly ventured into another room. This room was worse than the last one. There were several people in here. All dead. Two particular people caught Sakura's eyes.

It was a mother and daughter. The mom had blonde hair. Her daughter did too. Her daughter looked like she was three or four. The mother was holding her daughter tightly. Sakura could see the faded tear marks on both of their cheeks. Tears fell down Sakura's cheeks as she shook. _Why? _"They didn't deserve this." She said quietly as she stopped shaking and wiped her tears away.

She walked toward the door and left the room. "Pakkun?" She called. She heard him say, "In here." She walked into the room he was in and saw Kakashi laying there. He had chakra suppressors on both his wrists, he was chained to a metal table. Pakkun had already gotten rid of the chakra suppressors and the chains. "Is he okay?" She asked. Pakkun nodded. "He's just unconscious. It looks like they were after his sharingan eye. He should wake up in a minute or two."

Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead. _How could I be so stupid. Of course that's what they were after! _Kakashi sat up slowly with Sakura's help. "You okay Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked quietly. He nodded. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." _Although, I'm not so sure that Sakura's fine. _"Good, we need to go and help the boys." She said. Then, they all left running to help Naruto and Sasuke.

7-7-7

Luckily, the ninja that they were fighting were wimpy chunin that were easy to kill. Easy for him and Sasuke. But they just kept coming. At this rate, they would exhaust their chakra. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto yelled. A hundred Naruto's showed up and started fighting. Within five minutes they were gone. "Crap." He heard Sasuke hiss. h needed help. Suddenly, the mountain shook and three figures stepped out.

Kakashi had his sharingan revealed, and he had blown through the thick wall with his chidori. Sakura had a kunai out and Kakashi had summoned Pakkun back to his home. Sakura and Kakashi charged. Naruto and Sasuke gained confidence with the other two's arrival and they started fighting as well.

7-7-7

Sakura was fighting when she heard a familiar chuckle, "So it's you again." She said as she turned to him again. It was the rogue ninja she had fought before. "I had hoped to battle you again, I had unfinished business with you. I wanted to ask you something. What's your name and how do you know mine?"

"My name is Reo. And in regards to your name, that's something you don't need to know." He told her while unsheathing his katana and getting into a battle stance. Sakura got into a battle stance too. "Well I guess that means that I'll have to make you tell me." They charged each other. Sakura ducked under his arm and punched him. He flew a few feet and stopped.

"Actually, I'll figure out what I need to know from someone else. You need to pay for what you all have done to those innocent people!" She made a shadow clone. Her shadow clone took her place and charged him. The real Sakura hid behind a boulder, while her shadow clone was fighting him. Once her clone poofed out of existence, Sakura ran at him fast and stabbed him in the heart.

That was Sakura's first kill.

7-7-7

An hour later, they accomplished their mission by killing all of the people in the mountain. It had been like a blur for Sakura. She didn't know how many people she killed. She felt guilty. They were staying in a clearing for the night. She readily offered to take the first shift. She was sitting in a taller tree when she felt her sensei's presence sitting beside her on the tree.

"You should be getting sleep Kakashi sensei." She told him. He looked at her. He was worried about her. He had a feeling he was taking her first kill badly. "Well since you're up here Kakashi sensei, let me tell you something. When I was six years old, I saw a scene of a horror movie. I was scared for weeks. I always had nightmares about it. Well, recently I've been begging my parents to let me watch horror movies. They still would always say no. You know what I decided just now? I don't need to watch horror movies, my memories are scarier than all of them. Don't you agree?"

_A/N: Well, first I wanted to say sorry for being a day late in updating. This chapter took longer than I thought it would to write. I hope you all like this chapter! _


	6. Chapter 6

One Small Change

Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _

_A/N: So, here's the next chapter! I'm going to go ahead and tell you that this chapter is a transition chapter. Sorry in advance if it isn't too exciting. Thank you so much to those who spend time in their days reading this! I hope you like this chapter! -Lizzie. _

Sakura tuned out Naruto and Sasukes' quarrel gladly. _**I'm so freaking sick of their fighting! I want to shut their mouths so bad! Do they not even care about what we saw in that creepy base? **__Inner, nice to see you again. Why were you so silent for the weeks we were gone on this mission? __**I was being lazy. **__Mk. Anyway, Sasuke and Naruto didn't see what we saw Inner. I suppose sensei is a bit worried about us. __**He doesn't need to be… Right? **__I honestly don't know. I mean, that guy we killed, he had a family… Friends. We took him away from those who loved him. __**Sakura, you need to realize that he would have killed Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi sensei, people we care about. It was him or us. I know that's cruel but that's how the shinobi world works. You can't keep antagonizing yourself over this. Okay? **__Okay. Thanks Inner. __**No problem, I have a thing for giving you pep talks. **_

Sakura was__startled out of her reverie when she saw a hand wave repeatedly in front of her face. "What is it Naruto?" She asked, slightly annoyed that she didn't get to talk to her inner more. Naruto unexpectedly put a hand to her forehead. "Well, you were still running but then you got this weird look in your eyes like you weren't even there!" Naruto replied, removing his hand from Sakura's forehead.

Sakura also noticed the curious glances of Sasuke and Kakashi. _Inner! What do I do! __**Say you were thinking? **__Mk. _She sheepishly rubbed her neck and explained. "I was just thinking. Sorry for worrying you all." Sasuke and Naruto shrugged and set off again while Kakashi regarded her for a few more moments before going with the boys. _Well, I wasn't lying, per se. I mean, I just didn't tell them that I was actually having a conversation with my inner! See, I was just withholding some information! _

_**What am I going to do with you. **_Sakura didn't reply as she looked around at the lush green trees and the firm dirt road. _It's like home. Simplistic, but beautiful. We haven't been home in a long time don't you think Inner? __**Yeah, I miss our big bed. **__Ahem. __**And our parents. 'Kay? Happy now? **__Yup! Okay, I'm going to stop our conversation now, so Naruto doesn't point it out again. _

Sakura yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She was tired. They had been running non-stop for a few hours. She also was still tired from the fight that occurred five days ago. She stifled a giggle as Naruto yawned a few seconds after her. _I guess yawning is contagious. _Naruto blushed at her giggle and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

She looked at her sensei next, opening her mouth to say something. "Kakashi sensei, is it okay if we rest for a little while?" Kakashi, seeing no problem with them taking a small break, nodded his head and stopped, pulling out his infamous book. The rest of them stopped as well, sitting on branches of trees. Shifting until she was in a comfortable position, Sakura allowed her thoughts to wander.

_Inner, I don't know why but I have a bad feeling for some reason. __**Eh? Your nerves are probably put on edge from this mission. **__I guess so… _Sakura, not wanting to talk anymore, shut her eyes and imagined herself on the beach. _It's so peaceful… _Sakura stayed like that for what seemed like hours until a rather abrupt question interrupted her calm.

"Hey Kakashi sensei? What does sex mean?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked unaffected, but the tips of his ears turned bright red. Sakura was tempted to open her eyes but decided against it._ I'm not getting into this. I am totally oblivious to their conversation. I'm not getting into this. I am totally oblivious to their conversation. _Sakura mentally chanted.Kakashi shut his book, putting a bookmark in his place.

"Well, my dear students, when a man and a women love each other very much they-" Sakura interrupted him by racing over to her sensei and putting a hand over his mask. "Kakashi sensei, please do not traumatize Naruto right now. He does not need that talk right now. Put. The. Book. Away. Now. Understand?" She said, temper leaking into every word. Kakashi nodded once.

She removed her hand from his mask, turning to Naruto. "Naruto, that word is definitely not interesting for you right now. Anyway, what is your favorite ramen flavor?" She said, successfully steering the conversation away from the previous topic.

7-7-7

A few hours later, it was sunset and they decided to spend the night in a clearing they found. They ate a wild fox that Naruto hunted down. Sakura seasoned it, and Sasuke cooked it with his fire jutsu. Around ten, they all decided to have people take shifts while the others slept. Sakura was doing the first shift. From ten to one.

After the boys went into their tent, Sakura let her thoughts wander while still keeping alert. _You know, I still have that bad feeling. __**Well, I still think that it's just your nerves. **__Whatever. _Around 12:30, Sakura felt one rain drop fall, then another, and another. _**Great, just great. Now we'll probably catch a cold.**__ Calm down, we only have about thirty minutes left. I'm sure we won't catch a cold. We're under the shade of a tree, and the rain is likely to stop soon. It probably won't even get much worse than this. _

Fifteen minutes later, the rain only got worse and Sakura was shivering all over. _**Told you. **__Shut up. _She curled her arms around herself and leaned her body against the tree. _Fifteen more minutes left you'll be fine. _Before Sakura knew it, she had passed out, curled into a small ball leaning against a damp tree. That was how Sasuke found her when his shift came at one.

7-7-7

The next morning, Sakura was surprised to have woken up under a warm sleeping bag. _**Maybe it was Sasuke! Aww! **__Inner… _Sakura then sat up and put on some new clothes. Feeling refreshed, she walked out and ate some breakfast with her team. After that, they started their few hour run to the village. _I want to thank Sasuke, but I'm nervous! _

_** Never fear, Inner Sakura is here! **__You know, that was probably one of the cheesiest lines I've ever heard. __**Whatever. Anyway, I was listening to your dilemma and I decided something, just go up to him and say it! **__But- __**Just go up to him and say it. **__Fine. _

Tentatively, Sakura started to run beside Sasuke, being careful to keep a few feet between them. She looked at him, emerald meeting onyx. "Thank you, for last night." She said, a blush creeping up her neck. "Hn." He replied. Sakura remained where she was and continued running, satisfied with herself.

7-7-7

Once they arrived at the village, they immediately noticed something was wrong, several buildings were destroyed and the guards at the gate looked on edge, as if preparing for anything. If Sakura could guess, she'd say they were attacked. As they walked to the gates, the guards looked at them and sighed in relief. "What's wrong?" Kakashi asked the guards. The guards looked at each other before answering. "We were attacked just yesterday by Sound and Sand. The third Hokage is dead."

_A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter! Sorry if it's a bit short. I'm sick and exhausted. Thank you so much to those who faved, reviewed, read, or followed this story! I really appreciate it! Sorry for the wait! _

_-Lizzie. _


	7. Chapter 7

One Small Change

Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form._

Kakashi's' visible eye widened considerably. _The village… Attacked? _"How did the Third Hokage die?" He asked, trying to maintain composure. "Orochimaru. He rammed him through with his snake sword but the Third managed to use a fatal jutsu to seal away Orochimaru's arms." Kotetsu stated, eyes darting around the forest behind Team 7.

Kakashi snuck a glance at three students behind him. Naruto was already crying and Sakura is hugging him while unshed tears shone in her emerald eyes. Sasuke sported a look of pure shock at the news but smothered it almost immediately. _About what I expected. _"Do you know how many casualties there are?" Kakashi asked, looking back to the guards.

Izumo answered this time. "Dozens. Sand and Sound teamed up and attacked the leaf during the final round of the chunin exams. The Kazekage's youngest son, Gaara unleashed his one tailed beast and it took awhile to completely subdue it. We're still in the process of counting all the deceased."

"Who is going to be the next Hokage?" Kakashi inquired. "The council has already decided that, they're going to be sending your genin along with Jiraiya in exactly a week to find and bring back Tsunade Senju. You'll be needed for different missions. That's why you're genin are going with Jiraiya instead of you." Kotetsu informed. _They do realize that she won't want to come back right? Some people are too scarred from the war to be healed. _

Kakashi nodded, "When will the funeral be?" "In two days. As I said, we're still counting the deceased so it will be in two days at noon to give people enough time to prepare everything." Izumo said. "Okay. Kids, let's go inside. Thanks, Izumo, Kotetsu." Kakashi said, already starting to walk in. The three disgruntled genin followed after him.

After a few minutes of no noise besides Naruto's quiet sobs, Kakashi decided to try to break the silence. "Since Narutos' apartment is the closest, we're going to drop him off first. Then Sasuke, and finally, Sakura. They all nodded. _Well, so much for breaking the silence. _Kakashi was used to silence. In fact, he relished it.

But hearing a prolonged silence from his three usually rambunctious genin. That unnerved him. And trust me, not many things unnerved Kakashi anymore. A few minutes later, they reached Narutos' apartment building, only to find it, and the buildings around it, completely demolished. Naruto didn't seem too upset about it. _Thank goodness I brought our team picture with me. _Naruto thought.

_Where is he going to stay now? _As if hearing Kakashis' unsaid question, Sakura answered. "If my house isn't destroyed, I'm sure that we can take in Naruto." "Thank you." Naruto said. Sakura shook her head. "It's no problem." They kept going until they reached Sasukes' house. "Bye Sasuke." Sakura and Naruto said without their usual enthusiasm.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded to Kakashi, then went inside without another word. Because the Uchiha district was on the outer layer of the village, it was mostly undamaged save for a few buildings. Five minutes later, they reached Sakuras' house. It was in the shinobi district since her parents were ANBU. _*Sakuras' pov* _

Sakura shakily walked over to the remains of her home. This was the place she grew up in. This was the place where she learned to walk and talk. This was where she learned to play the piano. She heard Narutos' comforting words, she felt Kakashis' hand on her shoulder. But she didn't register it. _My home's gone. The pictures! _

Startling Kakashi and Naruto, Sakura started running to where the remnants of her room laid. Once she got there, she started rapidly digging through the remnants in search of a very special box. She heard Naruto and Kakashis' questions but just ignored them in favor of focusing all her energy on finding the box.

Five minutes later Sakura was ready to give up. No matter how much she searched it seemed like she would never find it. _It's gone… _"Sakura. Is this it?" Naruto asked. Him and Kakashi had started searching for an item that would hold importance to Sakura a few seconds after she had.

Sakura turned her head to where Narutos' voice had come from. He was holding a white box with Sakura in gold calligraphy letters on it. Tears sprung up in her emerald eyes as she ran and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Naruto." He hugged her back with just as much force. A minute later they ceased their hold on each other and Naruto handed her the box.

Once she grabbed the box from Narutos' hands, Sakura eagerly opened it and looked through all the photos to make sure they were still in tact. Reassuring herself that all the photos were intact, Sakura looked up to Naruto and Kakashis' visible eyes and elaborated. "My whole family loves photography. They took so many pictures and for my twelfth birthday they gave me this box of pictures that the two of them had taken these past years. It also has our team picture in it.

I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just. If I lost this…" She trailed off. They both shrugged. Sakura put her hands on her temples and massaged them slowly. It was a habit she had gotten over time. "I'm sorry Naruto, but for obvious reasons I can't house you." Sakura stated, gesturing to the remains of her house.

"It's okay Sakura. Well, where will me and your family stay?" Naruto asked. _Mom. Dad. Are they both okay? _"Um-" Sakura was interrupted when Kakashi interjected with an idea. "Maybe we could all stay at the Uchiha district with Sasuke." "Kakashi sensei, did your apartment get destroyed?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, it was near the Hokage tower, which got the most damage, so when we passed by I sent a shadow clone to go see if the apartment was destroyed and it was."

_Well, at least his porn's gone. __**You do realize he probably brought his entire Icha Icha series with him right? **_"But guess what? I brought my entire Icha Icha series so thankfully it wasn't destroyed!" Kakashi enthusiastically told them. _**Told you. **__Oh shut up. _"Yeah Kakashi sensei. Sasuke will say yes and then all of us can live near each other! Like neighbors!" Naruto said, thinking of the possibilities instead of focusing on the Thirds' death.

"Sure, as long as Sasuke's okay with it." Sakura said as they started walking back to the Uchiha district.

7-7-7

Once they arrived, Naruto knocked on the door. When the door opened they saw Sasuke looking at them indifferently. "What is it?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly. "All our homes were destroyed can Sakuras' parents and us stay with you?" Kakashi asked. "Whatever, just don't break anything." Sasuke replied. "Thank you."

7-7-7

Sakura had already settled into her own room when it happened. Since Sasukes' house was the clan heads' house, it was pretty large. Narutos' room was across from hers', Kakashis' was the room to the right of hers, and Sasukes' room was the room to the left of hers. Her parents would stay in the room to the left of Narutos'. _That is if they're even alive. _

Sakura shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and set to looking around her new room again. The walls were a navy blue and the futon had a silver blanket on it with navy blue marks on it. The curtains were a navy blue with silver marks at the bottom of it. Sakura jumped when there was a sudden knock at her window. Hastily, she grabbed a kunai and opened the window, inwardly preparing herself for anything.

What she saw relieved her but scared her at the exact same time. An ANBU was there in full uniform. "Sakura Haruno?" A deep voice asked. She nodded. "The council summons you immediately."

_A/N: So here's chapter seven. I hope you all liked it! Have a great day!_

_-Lizzie. _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

One Small Change

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. _

_A/N: If there is asterisks around a work or group of words then there will be emphasization on it at the end of the chapter. Thank you! -Lizzie. _

Sakura wrung her clammy hands behind her back, shuffling her feet awkwardly in the presence of the three Konoha elders. _Don't they realize this is awkward? _Beads of perspiration fell down Sakuras' face as she looked around the room. "We assume you are wondering why we called you here." Homura stated, cold tone echoing around the previously silent room. Sakura only nodded, ignoring her Inners' snide remarks.

_What do they need? Just get to the point! _Setting her wrinkled hands in front of her, Homura spoke once again. "It has come to our attention that during the event of the Sound and Sand, your parents defected to Orochimaru." Sakura felt like someone hit her with a bag of bricks. "Why?" Sakura didn't recognize her own voice. It sounded so small and quiet. Not filled with her usual exuberance. "We don't know their motives. It's truly a perplexing situation. You're dismissed." Bowing, Sakura ran from the room with tears in her eyes. Ignoring the curious stares of others as she passed by, Sakura ran straight to the first place she thought of. The playground.

Sitting on the swing, she looked down at her clenched hands. _Flashback. Six year old Sakura was sitting on a swing, softly pushing herself with tears running down her face. What was so wrong with her? Sure her hair was pink and sure her forehead was a little bigger than most kids, but that didn't mean that she was a freak! Or it does. That caused her to cry harder. No matter what she did, those kids would always tease her. She tried everything! From covering it with her hair to tying a piece of fabric on her forehead to hide it. _

_ Why couldn't they be nicer? Why was she never good enough? She would always be a failure… And a freak too. She cried harder. "Hey Saki! Mom wants us home for dinner- Are you okay?" Her father asked. "T-they h-hate me!" She cried, jumping into her fathers' arms. Patting her back sympathetically, Sakuras' dad spoke. "That's ridiculous. They don't hate you Saki, they're just jealous. People like them thrive on making others feel bad because they feel bad about themselves. Get it?" Sakura nodded shakily. "Good. Let's go. Your mom will be mad if we don't make it back for dinner in time." He explained to her. She then got off the metal swing and held her dads' hand. "Daddy?" "Yes?" "You and Mommy will never leave right?" Sakuras' dad got a distant look in his eyes before shaking it off and replying. "Of course."_

_ "Pinky swear?" She asked, holding up her pinky. He chuckled lightly before linking his much larger pinky with her small one. "Pinky swear." Flashback Over. _

_ How long had you been planning to leave? How many empty promises have you made to me? Was it all just an illusion? The parents that I loved… Was it all just an act!?_

_How long have you been lying to me? _

Abruptly, Sakura stood up from the swing and headed towards the nearest training ground. She needed to let loose all of the emotions she accumulated over the past few days. After a few minutes, she arrived. It was deserted unsurprisingly. With the whole invasion and preparations for the funeral, most shinobi would be busy even at this late hour of the day. Dismissing her thoughts, Sakura walked to the nearest tree and started to annihilate it. Spurred on by her Inners' anger filled rant, Sakura started to hit the tree harder and harder with uncoordinated punches and kicks. She didn't care if she was splintering her limbs, she didn't care that she was bruising herself. Besides, who would notice anyway?

7-7-7

Kakashi knew something was wrong when Sakura wasn't in her room. Call it a gut feeling, call it paranoia, he just knew. Seeing the note on her comforter, he walked to her bed and opened it.

_ Dear Kakashi sensei, Sasuke, and Naruto, _

_So you're probably wondering where I am. An ANBU came and I the council wants to see me. I'll be back home after that. Promise! Love Sakura. _

The note only assured that his gut feeling was right. Why on earth would the council want to see Sakura? It could only mean something bad. Why else would they want to see her? Since Naruto and Sasuke were already asleep, Kakashi knew that this was the most opportune time to see exactly where she went. Ignoring the familiar lurching sensation of a teleportation jutsu, Kakashi approached the timid looking receptionist that was working in the Hokage tower.

"K-kakashi!" She squeaked, immediately straightening her posture and patting her honey blonde hair down. "What brings y-you here at this h-hour?" She stuttered with a light blush on her cheeks. He ignored it, fangirls were no anomaly in Konoha. "Do you know if Sakura Haruno has left here yet?" "Um, yes. A-about 45 minutes ago she left the m-meeting between her and the e-elders." She informed him. _Okay, to the training grounds it is. _With his famous eye crinkle smile, Kakashi spoke. "Thank you." She blushed a darker shade of red. "N-no p-problem."

7-7-7

Once again ignoring the sensation of a teleportation jutsu, Kakashis' visible eye widened minutely at the sight that greeted his arrival. Bloody and panting, Sakura was repeatedly punching and kicking a large tree. To the untrained eye, it would just look like she was practicing taijutsu. But he knew better. She was sobbing, tremors shaking her small frame as she repeatedly continued to attack the tree with no coordination whatsoever.

_If she continues this, she'll severely injure herself! _Hastily, he ran in front of her and held her bloody fists tight in his grip, successfully preventing herself from further injury. It was then that he took in her entire appearance. Her normally bright green eyes were now dulled and clouded over from her constant tears. He knew that look, he knew it so well. It was a look of guilt and grief. Alarmingly, he also took note of her hands and feet, now covered with blood and small wood splinters from the tree. Gently, he let go of her hands and caught her as she sank to her knees. "It's okay, I'm here." He whispered to her. That was the moment she broke down.

_A/N: Hi! I hope you like this chapter! -Lizzie:D_


	9. Chapter 9

One Small Change

Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_

Sakura had always been good at processing and memorizing information. She always got the second best score, next to Shikamaru of course, on every single test they were given. She never had issue with understanding what something meant. Right now though, for the first time in her life, Sakuras' brain was thrown for a loop. It couldn't, no wouldn't, understand the fact that Sakuras' parents were gone. It would make it too real. It would make the reality that her parents, the people she thought she could always trust, betrayed not only her, but the entire village as well. More tears slid down Sakuras' cheeks as she clenched Kakashis' Jounin vest as if it was her lifeline. _How could they do this to the village? How could they do this to me? Did I matter at all to them? Was I just a mistake? A small hurdle in whatever plan they had?! Were they just humouring me when they said that they loved me?!_

_ To them… Was I just a waste of money? _Sakura sobbed louder as she clenched Kakashis' vest even tighter than before. Vaguely, she could feel Kakashis' hand awkwardly placed onto her back as a comforting gesture. Obviously, Kakashi wasn't very well versed in the art of comforting people, but to his defense, most others weren't either. _**Stop crying. It's not going to get answers. It's not going to make them come back. **_A voice that sounded sterner than Inner Sakura stated harshly. Sakura tried valiantly to stop, but the tears just kept coming no matter what she did. All the emotion she had kept bottled up over the past few months had now finally come out, in way of tears and incoherent words. After what seemed like forever, the tears finally stopped and Sakura stepped away from Kakashi, looking up to the star filled sky. It was beautiful.

"You know," Sakura started, still looking at the sky. "My parents used to love the stars, they told me that to them, it symbolizes hope for a new day. They-" Sakura let a few tears slip down her cheeks as she clenched her fists in anger. "They liked to watch them with me constantly. On the most random days, my dad would just say that we were going to go camp out and just watch the stars." Sakura shut her eyes and clenched her fists tighter as more tears fell onto the ground. "They _promised_ me that it was our family tradition and that we would always do it together every once and awhile. They promised me that when I was six. But I suppose that to them, p-promises are no more than e-empty w-words!" Sakura yelled the last part out of sadness and fury as she fell back onto her knees, more tears falling from her eyes. Not even a minute later, she felt a sharp pinch on the back of her neck and the last thing she thought before it all went black was. _Will anything ever be the same? _

7-7-7

Blearily, Sakura cracked open her eyes only to shut them immediately after seeing a glimpse of the sunlight blaring through her windows. Groaning, she put her arm over her already closed eyes and grimaced, remembering the events of the night before. She then felt a small surge of guilt, how late had she kept Kakashi up? Rolling over onto her stomach, Sakura grabbed the other pillow that she wasn't using and put it over her head, hoping to block out any brightness. After laying there for a few minutes, she finally groaned and tossed the pillow, which was previously on her head, onto the floor. Stretching, she stood up and walked over to the mirror near her bed and grimaced. In one word, she was a mess. Her eyes were red rimmed and a little crusty from the amount of water that passed through them the night prior. Her hair was knotted and had random strands sticking up. Grabbing the brush on her nightstand, Sakura dragged it through her hair and flinched several times because of the pain that came from brushing out knots. After a few minutes, Sakura finished and tossed her hair into a messy bun and looked at her clothes. They were wrinkled and dirty from the night prior. Making sure the door was shut and locked, Sakura tossed her red dress and black spandex shorts off and looked into the closet near her bed, inwardly hoping there would be something she could wear.

Sliding the closet door open, Sakura gasped and saw that the inside of the closet was filled with several boxes, albeit dusty, but boxes nonetheless! Grabbing the first box she saw, Sakura lifted it and put it onto her bed. Curiously, she lifted the lid and pulled it off, coughing slightly at the dust that came out. Sakura reached in and pulled out a grey short sleeve shirt. Jackpot! Reaching in again, she pulled out a black skort that reached mid thigh with hidden pockets in it. Sakura curiously looked the outfit over again before placing it back onto her bed and putting the box back into the closet. Putting her new outfit on along with her weapons pouch and tying her shuriken holder onto her right thigh. By now, Sakura was positive that these clothes were ninja clothes, which was a good thing, because Sakura didn't particularly want to go to a store and find a new outfit. Tucking the hem of her shirt into her black skort, Sakura took one last look at her new look. _It's kinda sad, there's not once trace of red on my outfit._

Sakura shook her head and walked out of her room and into the kitchen. _The red was my pare- Mr. and Mrs. Harunos' favorite color, they don't deserve to be respected by me any longer. _Sakura then took her seat at the kitchen table and started eating. "Sakura! I love your new look!" Naruto said with a charming grin. Sakura gave him a small smile. "Thank you Naruto." Last night had made her reevaluate what she wanted in life and what exactly she wanted to change. Sakura had been unnecessarily cruel to Naruto for several years. Sakura still didn't understand how Naruto would like someone that was that cruel to him for no logical reason.

"Kakashi-sensei wants us to meet at the training grounds in a few minutes." Sasuke stated serenely, breaking Sakuras' reverie. She just nodded and finished off the remains of her breakfast within a minute and left with Sasuke and Naruto.

7-7-7

_Six Hours Later. _They were all laying on the ground panting hard. Except Kakashi, he was just leaning against a nearby tree, reading Icha Icha Paradise. "Come on, get back up. Remember what or who you are doing this for. Remember your motivation." Kakashi stated as we all leaned on each other as we stood. Then we all got in position to start running again on Kakashis' signal.

_My goal,_

_My dream,_

_My ambition,_

_Is to hunt down my parents and get answers! _

_Is to become Hokage!_

_Is to kill my older brother!_

It was when that Kakashi decided to say "Go."

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been pretty busy lately. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! -Lizzie:D_


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